Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money • Hacker News Board

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#21

Post by jamal-kumar » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:35 PM UTC

wizzwizz4 wrote: post #18

jamal-kumar wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think anyone seems to remember the slight drama under which satoshi nakamoto had disappeared where he called people out for not really seeming to realize or respect that bitcoin was pretty much just a proof of concept

Do you have a source for this?

It's in some mailing list archives somewhere to the best of my recollection. Check around for his final mailing list and IRC messages

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/what-happened-when-bit...

This article seems to get into it if you want to read it all, let me know if you do so and find anything out, I only wish I had the time

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#22

Post by golergka » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:35 PM UTC

Drugs.

I feel like I'm making the same comment on any of these articles, so I'll just post this one word from now on.

You can't buy drugs without bitcoin. A significant portion of all bitcoin transactions in the world are going to Russian drug marketplace Hydra. This forces bitcoin on many, many people who are not technology or finance enthusiasts, but just want to make a transaction.

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#23

Post by Swenrekcah » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:35 PM UTC

TedShiller wrote: post #12

Funny how people talk about the problem of Bitcoin using a lot of energy but then they live in a big house, drive an SUV, and fly to far away places on vacation. Your life style is the problem, not crypto.

A big house, an SUV and exotic vacations are all actual real things with real world values.

Not strictly necessary and sometimes extravagant but they are not just burning energy for nothing.

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#24

Post by Ensorceled » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:36 PM UTC

TedShiller wrote: post #12

Funny how people talk about the problem of Bitcoin using a lot of energy but then they live in a big house, drive an SUV, and fly to far away places on vacation. Your life style is the problem, not crypto.

It's not binary, both of these things are problems.

When a some one points out a problem, if it turns out person is a hypocrite, that does not make the problem vanish in a puff of smoke.

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#25

Post by Shacklz » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:37 PM UTC

Bitcoin can't die soon enough.

The initial idea and the ideology behind it is really admirable, but it was done as a proof of concept and failed terribly. But instead of "alright, PoC done, does not scale, let's move on to something better", too many people can't or don't want to move on because there's too much money on the line.

I find it personally exhausting - I had a coworker until recently (he left) who was a super nice guy but completely into the bitcoin-bullshit (with zero understanding of how it works, naturally). The fact that he made significant profits with it gave him the idea that he somehow is right about it.

The bitcoin bubble and all that goes with it can't burst soon enough.

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#26

Post by mikepurvis » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:38 PM UTC

TedShiller wrote: post #12

Funny how people talk about the problem of Bitcoin using a lot of energy but then they live in a big house, drive an SUV, and fly to far away places on vacation. Your life style is the problem, not crypto.

This is like dismissing Al Gore's climate advocacy because he flew private. It's perfectly possible to have a valid criticism of waste in one specific area even if you have unaddressed waste in your own life.

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#27

Post by bhk » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:38 PM UTC

I find it remarkable that about half of the 14 articles that I see linked on the Bloomberg home page "above the fold" (in my browser window) are cryptocurrency-related.

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#28

Post by codegeek » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:38 PM UTC

yelnatz wrote: post #14

It was getting there. I remember Bitcoin was getting a wider adoption for payment back in 2013ish. I paid for my domain from namecheap in Bitcoin back then. But it then blew up and everyone treated it more as a store of value and it made all the shops stop accepting it as payment due to its volatility.

Pretty much. If bitcoin (or any cypto) can be a stable currency, I would jump on it. Otherwise, it is just a gambling tool at the moment. I don't gamble with things I don't understand (unless I am in Vegas and willing to lose a few bucks for fun). So it is a hard pass for me at the moment.

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#29

Post by stevecat » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:38 PM UTC

yelnatz wrote: post #14

It was getting there. I remember Bitcoin was getting a wider adoption for payment back in 2013ish. I paid for my domain from namecheap in Bitcoin back then. But it then blew up and everyone treated it more as a store of value and it made all the shops stop accepting it as payment due to its volatility.

I think it was around 2013 that I paid a busker with Bitcoin (their suggestion, not mine, I'm not that weird). That briefly felt like the future.

I hope he hung onto it!

Re: Bitcoin is failing at becoming the future of money

#30

Post by TedShiller » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:40 PM UTC

Ensorceled wrote: post #24

TedShiller wrote: post #12

Funny how people talk about the problem of Bitcoin using a lot of energy but then they live in a big house, drive an SUV, and fly to far away places on vacation. Your life style is the problem, not crypto.

It's not binary, both of these things are problems. When a some one points out a problem, if it turns out person is a hypocrite, that does not make the problem vanish in a puff of smoke.

True. It also points out a new problem.